


Juvenile Experiment

by kimify



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Darth Vader - Freeform, Galactic Empire, Gen, Han and Leia try everything in their power to save Luke, Human Experimentation, Little Luke, Luke Skywalker - Freeform, Rebel Alliance, Vader wants to be the father
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2019-04-30 10:02:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14494527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimify/pseuds/kimify
Summary: Luke Skywalker was only supposed to save the rebels that were used for imperial experimentations, getting caught and forcefully injected with the Juvenile-serum was not one of them. What was he supposed to do knowing the serum would turn him into a child with Darth Vader on his way to collect him?





	1. The Juvenile-experiment

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place during Return of the Jedi between the moment Luke and Leia saved Han on Tatooine and when Luke went to Yoda and was told about having a sister

“I’m not going to lie, Wedge. This place is creepy.” And even that was not how Luke Skywalker would describe the imperial science facility. After all, hiding here with their small rescue-force of rebels where everyone wearing lab coats used their rebel prisoners for illegal experiments was not only creepy but down-right disgusting too.

But they just could not ignore the warnings from their suffering rebel friends. The planet of Montross was mostly unexplored for the Rebel Alliance, but most of the rebels escaping the facility suffered from disorders varying from loss of eyesight, memory wipe to simply disappearing and never being heard of again. Leia decided to adjourn her meeting in the war room and focus on the facility when a brainwashed rebel suddenly turned his gun on her and nearly shot. The poor rebel thought he was an imperial spy.

“…Kriffing hell, are those rebels?” Col Takbright, another rebel on the team flashed him a frightful look. “They look like zombies. No wonder they’re letting most of their prisoners go after experimenting with them.”

As Luke sat leaning against a pile of crates filled with wires, he dared a glance over his shoulder and noticed the two rebel pilots hunched over in their chair with trembling hands, the male looked worse than the female and was mumbling pretty much nonsense. Behind them stood two imperial scientists keeping tabs on their subjects.

“We have to do something; these experiments are too dangerous,” said Wedge as his eyes fell on another herd of rebels being led to another room.

“Stick to the plan,” Luke exclaimed with seriousness, “go rescue the others while I search for whoever is behind this.”

There was a brief nod. “Stay safe Luke.”  
  
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

After waiting a moment, Luke unhooked his lightsaber, ignited it and pointed it at the two scientists who winced at the intruder but remained calm.

“What have you done to them?” Luke asked as he eyed the alerted rebels before turning his gaze back to the scientists.

One imperial scientist straightened and welcomed him with a gentle smile, “They are our newest experiment.”  
  
Luke arched an eyebrow. “What does this new experiment consist of? Who’s behind this all?”

“My, my… so many questions. It appears to me you desire the same experiment.” Luke’s blood turned to ice as the man in lab coat ambles his way to him, in his hand a syringe holding a rich bumblebee-golden substance.

“No thanks, I don’t like being tampered with.” Luke took a step back before reaching out his left hand and ripping the syringe out of the imperial’s hand. He watched as it dropped to the ground and shattered. Next, he forcefully pushed the two approaching imperial scientists against the wall, knocking them out. His head snapped back in the direction of the two rebels and he saw them jump out of their chair and rush their way to Luke. Their eyes were desperate and… well… whatever the scientists had done had them shocked to the core.

“I’m Commander Luke Skywalker of the Rebel Alliance. What’s your name?” Luke asked calmly.

The male rebel stared at him, looking slightly taken aback before lowering his head, “Eden Tran, sir.”

“Commander Luke Skywalker,” The female rebel repeated, “I am Commander Charlotte Wishwinter.”

Luke nodded, strapping his gun back to his belt. “Mind me asking what happened? You guys look really pale.”

Eden winced and exchanged a miserable look with his female comrade, “T-they infected us with a perfected serum of the juvenile-experiment,” he rushed off.

“Juvenile-experiment?” That didn’t sound too comforting.

Charlotte nodded grimly. “Yes, it is a new experiment they are testing on rebels. They infected us with a substance that would eventually turn us into a juvenile, or so they said.”

“When were you infected with that?” Luke asked hesitantly, giving the rebels a once-over before deciding they looked perfectly normal.  
  
“Seven days ago. Afternoon,” Charlotte confirmed, “That’s why they’re keeping tabs on us. They want to see whether the experiment truly worked.”

“I’m glad it hasn’t yet!” Eden was clammy and there was the glisten of cold sweat. His eyes were as wide as if someone was coming to deliver the fatal blow. “A _child_ , can you even believe it? I-It sounds ridiculous doesn’t it?”  
  
Luke nodded thoughtfully, “Is there something else I should know?” 

Charlotte nodded, “There is a room in this facility filled with juveniles. Varying from teenagers to young adults - at least that’s what we thought before the imperial scientists told us they were actually our captured rebel comrades. We have to save them; they have no idea who they are.”

Eden nodded with fright. “They said it was a combination of the juvenile-experiment and the memory-experiment.”   
  
“Memory-experiment?” Luke covered a hand over his mouth. “They forgot who they were?”  
  
She nodded grimly, “Yes, but they are pretty smart for whatever age they are meaning their brain still functions like they used to. Now, they’re just the same rebels with amnesia in the body of teenagers.”  
  
Luke had to give it to the commander though. Even though she was infected with that same serum she managed being able to maintain such a calm expression. Charlotte Wishwinter deserved a medal for that.

 “There’s still hope for you guys then, you’ll remember.”

A loud scream from behind caught Luke’s attention and he turned on his feet to deflect whatever tried to hit him. He saw an imperial scientist move closer and he easily cut through the dart that aimed for his chest, leaving two broken pieces falling to the floor. Through the Force he felt another tremor and Luke looked behind him but was unable to dodge another dart hitting his body in full fashion, leaving his body collapsed and paralyzed to the ground.

“Can’t move!” Luke cried out in vain as the stun-dart quickly did his job, rendering him unable to help the injected rebels. Eden took a hesitant step back unlike Commander Charlotte who searched for an object to hit the scientist with. When her eyes fell on Luke’s now deactivated lightsaber she made a futile attempt to reach it before being knocked out by the imperial scientist.

“A wise decision staying out of this, Eden. You wouldn’t want a combination of the serum, right?”

Eden winced but said nothing.

 “…And who do we have here?”

He could hear the rubber-soled boots on the polished stone surface come closer. Luke went white, knowing he was being hauled over someone’s back, “Let… me… go!” his lips had trouble moving.

“I don’t think so; you have already done enough damage.”  
  
No, no, no, no! This could not be happening. He could not let this crazy imperial scientist take him. Luke felt his stomach churn, and he thought of how to warn the others. Scrunching his eyes, he used the Force to reach out - hoping someone could help him.

Realizing there was nothing else he could do in his paralyzed state, he resignedly let himself get dragged onto a science lab table where the man kept him restrained.

“What… what are you… going to… do to… me?” Luke’s jaw went slack, but his fierce blue glare remained.

“No more talking child, everything will be all right.” The imperial scientist comforted, only further fueling Luke’s growing discomfort and he groaned painfully as the man latched onto his arm and injected the unknown content of the syringe into his body. 

Luke winced, feeling the foreign substance flow into his bloodstream then distribute itself among his organs. He could feel his heart beat faster, the lungs compress and decompress rapidly, with a sudden burst of newfound strength he tries to break from his bonds. Much to his dismay, this new strength was not enough to fight his disability.

Adding to his dismay, he felt another syringe inject some substance into his other arm. Again, he felt the foreign substance enter his system, flowing through his body like a deadly disease.

Luke gasped. “Did you just combine two experiments?”

“No, actually I used the same experiment, but merely doubled the dosage.” There was a sly smirk on the Imperial's face as he placed the syringe on the counter, “it’s been seven days since the other test subjects’ injection and still no results. Perhaps a double dosage would suffice.”

Terror overtook Luke’s face, “Seven days ago? Are you talking about the Juvenile-experiment–”  
  
There was a dark and muffled laugh, “So smart! Yes, the perfected serum of the Juvenile-experiment.”

Oh, Force, this couldn’t be true!

Luke blanched, “What do you mean by ‘perfected’? Didn’t you guys already succeed?!”

The sound of boots making a ‘tok tok’ noise echoed throughout the laboratory and Luke felt his forehead start sweating as he faced the imperial scientist. Towering over him with confident and severe, “Our first results showed the test subject becoming physically younger in years. But that is all. What would be the point of dealing with rebel scum like you? Making you become a juvenile with all the memories as a rebel? No that won’t suffice! The Empire would gain nothing from it.”

Luke felt his head shake in denial. His bright blue eyes went wide with dread realization, “Does this mean–”

“Correct! Once in operation, the perfected serum will slowly break the neurons, also called brain cells, until it reaches the test subjects newly assigned age.” The imperial scientist cut in with a smirk, holding a finger to his lips as he pressed a button beneath Luke’s table and opened the door.

Luke’s widened eyes trailed after the imperial scientist as he stepped towards the doorway.  
  
“Wait! How old will I be? And how old are the others?”  
  
The imperial scientist came to a halt, pausing before glancing over his shoulder, “Hmm, good question. Most of the test subjects became teenagers actually, with very few exceptions. We assume the quantity of dosage might be involved,” his mouth quirked up, “but you wouldn’t need to worry about that.”

With that, the imperial scientist stalked through the door. Leaving him alone and restrained by shackles.

“This cannot be happening!” Luke was not sure which of the other experiments would have been his personal choice, but the juvenile-experiment was amongst the worst out there. He could only hope the effects of the perfected serum did not work. Having his body grow younger was one thing, having his mindset turn into that of a child was the worst. 

Luke suddenly felt the effects of the paralysis wear off thanks to his attuned Force senses. Gritting his teeth together, he came to the bitter conclusion that he needed a plan before he could start looking for the others. The antidote was his most important goal now. He would not only be able to help himself, but the other victims as well.   

Once he deemed himself completely free from the paralysis of the stun-dart Luke unbound his shackles with the Force and hopped from the lab table, mimicking the imperial scientist into opening the door.

With a heavy sigh, he heard the alarm bells chime in his head as he took note of the imperial guards running through the hallways. Luke cunningly moved behind the many crates that filled the hallway and found his lost lightsaber stuffed beneath a stack of blankets. Once he successfully managed to reach the next room Luke ran up towards a holo-tank in hope of a visual projection of the area.

“Where’s the antidote–” Luke muttered to himself, his eyes observing the projected map of the area.

“Luke, there you are!” The voice of Wedge cut through his thoughts.

Luke blinked, “Wedge, what happened?”  
  
“We got everyone out! The princess is waiting outside with another team of rebels. We’re gonna blow the facility up so they can’t use it again!” Wedge tucked him by his black robes in a silent plea to get out of here as quickly as possible.

“Did you find an antidote for the infected ones?”

Wedge nodded, “We did find some antidotes.”

“Okay, we better leave then,” said Luke as he used the Force to find a path outside. His rebel friend tagged along, shooting down imperials assaulting them from all corners.

When he leap-jumped out of the imperial science facility and joined up with the rest of his crew Luke was given the order by Leia to get away from the place as soon as possible. Apparently, the bomb planted inside could go off any second now.

With quick steps, Luke commanded everyone to get into the large cargo ship bearing the crest of the Rebel Alliance. Looking around as he urged everyone to get inside, he noticed the many victims of the experiments. Some rebels had lost the ability to walk and needed to be carried while others took hesitant steps inside, clearly confused about everything -- and probably about themselves too. There were also those struggling too hard, those who thought they were imperials and felt they were being abducted. But he also saw Commander Charlotte and the other rebel Eden, they cast him a grateful smile before heading inside. Following them were mostly confused teenagers, young adults, and very few children. Luke stiffened as he saw them. Not being able to shake off the dread realization he could become one of them too.

Gosh, he needed that antidote quick.

Luke walked up the boarding ramp back onto the cargo ship, turning on the switch that closes the ramp. He could immediately feel the ship lift off into space, moving away from the facility and hoping he would never have to see it again.

Turning around he could see Han and Chewbacca walk up to him, “Hey Luke, did you find the lunatic behind all off this?”  
  
Luke forced a smile but shook his head, “Sadly not, I was talking to some captured rebels and before I knew it some stun dart hit me in the neck,” he explained leaning against the wall, bowing his head in slight frustration.

“The Empire must have one hell of a scientist on their hands.”  
  
Luke agreed, “Yeah, but he probably wouldn’t have survived the explosion.”

“At least knowing that makes me feel better.” Han scratched his nose playfully.  

“Can’t blame you, my friend.” Luke laughed gently, giving him a dismissive wave of the hand before reuniting with Charlotte and Eden who by now had given several reports on their unnatural conditioning.

“Hey, sorry about that slight miscalculation earlier,” said Luke as he sat down in one of the chairs, staring at his rebel comrades with sympathy and intent, “but I’m glad you’re all okay.”

Eden lowered his head, “For how long though?”

Charlotte shook her head dismissively, “What’s done is done. At least there won’t be any more victims. We can only hope for an antidote or for the effects of the serum to fail.”

Luke tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair, “Aren’t you guys feeling any different than… let’s say the moment you got injected seven days ago?”

Charlotte shook her head, “Not yet. But I must admit there are times when I feel… strange.”  
  
“Well, I feel terrible–” Eden raised a hand, his cheeks turning pink from embarrassment. 

Frowning, Luke cocked his head at Charlotte, “Did you get injected earlier or later than Eden?”

“At the same time, but perhaps the serum works differently depending on the person.” She suggested with a shake of the head.

Luke could only look at the group of scared children and teenagers huddled together while the rebels made them drink the antidote that would hopefully help them restore their original size and memories. He truly hoped Eden was just overreacting and that all he said was just his own… personal miscalculation instead of it truly being the effects of the serum. Because if it worked on Eden, it would definitely work on him. 

Sighing, Luke moved over to a bed and lay down on it. Deciding he needed a little rest.


	2. Searching for an antidote

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After having been forcefully injected with the serum, Luke tries to find an antidote.

Looking at the datapad in his hand Vader sighed as he ordered the last section of the report to appear on screen, the casualty list. Looking down at the list he felt his impatience rise, most of the inexplicable intelligent scientists had meaninglessly died and all because the Emperor never thought heavy security was required on the planet of Montross. Crushing the datapad he looked over at the large holoprojector revealing the names of the rebels present during the assault. He fell silent.

 _Luke Skywalker_ , was written amongst the many rebel names. 

Vader’s face behind the mask grew bitter. He was reminded of the only person alive who shared his blood. The only person that truly mattered to him after twenty-three years of loneliness and living in self-resentment for killing his beloved wife and their unborn child, or so he was told.

Leaning back in the chair in his pod he thought of his son. Letting his anger wash through him he was painfully reminded that his son was twenty-three years old. Twenty-three years old and he had missed all of his childhood. Feeling a boiling rage inside of him he clenched his fists. His son should be with him as he should have been from the moment he was born, standing at his side and ruling the galaxy with him, not some pet of Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Rebel Alliance. Luke Skywalker was his. His son belonged with him. He _owned_ his son.

He could hear the swallowing general as Veers entered the room. Nervously the man walked forward and stopped before his pod, looking at him cautiously with a certain amount of respect and fear.  
  
“My Lord.”  
  
“What is it this time, General?” Vader’s deep, rich, voice inquired.  
  
“Com-scan has detected an energy field protecting an area in the binary star system. We can assume the rebels have stationed somewhere near Montross and are trying to help the rebels used during the experimentation.” General Veers stated with clasped hands behind his back.

“Good. It means the rebels will not leave the system in case they are unable to find an antidote,” Vader concluded proudly, “what of the status of the field?”  
  
“It is strong enough to deflect any bombardment.”

Vader paused momentarily, “General, prepare your troops for an attack.”

As quickly as the general had come he had left, issuing the order to capture the rebel ship with his son onboard. Smiling behind his mask Vader was pleased to know his son’s location was easily found, but he reminded himself this could change so he quickly rose from his chair and left his personal chamber, marching behind the other pilots as they jumped in their TIE fighters and flew out of the hangar.  
  
Steering his TIE Advanced upwards, his thoughts once again strayed elsewhere.

‘No matter how far away you are from me, my son, I will try my utmost best to find you. You do not belong to them; you belong with me. Let me show you the life you should have lived at my side. You are my son; you should be with me, Luke.’ Vader thought fiercely through their bond, hoping his son would pick up on his comforting words.

* * *

 

‘You are my son; you should be with me, Luke.’

Luke’s eyes fluttered open, his bright blue eyes widening ever so slowly as the realization hit him like a bolt of lightning. His father had tried to connect with him just now. Swallowing, he pulled out of bed and moved towards a mirror giving himself a once-over before deciding the serum remained dormant, luckily.

Pushing the thought from his mind he stepped out of the cabin and navigated his way through the cargo ship until he found Leia and Han seated in the cockpit, arguing about something he could not quite follow yet.

“I ain't flying that way back, Princess. You heard Mon Mothma. Going back will get us all killed!”

“What’s wrong?” Luke asked as he approached them from behind, placing his hand gently on Leia’s shoulder, who turned to look at him with surprise on her face.

“Oh, Leia’s gone crazy because she feels a sudden compulsion to get back to Montross and see if we can find any more antidotes!”  
   
“Antidotes?” Luke repeated. “Why?”

Leia let out a tense breath, “The antidote we found were specifically made for those with tempered memories, meaning that we can only recover the memories of the victims to its normal state, but everything physical remains as it is.”  
  
Luke just nodded his head. He had hoped the antidote problem would have been solved, but he shouldn’t be surprised. They had been in a rush when everything went down. If he had enough time to go look for the antidote, or at least find the leader behind all of this, he might have succeeded.

“What does that mean for those suffering from the new juvenile-experiment?”  
  
“Since all rebels of the juvenile-experiment were injected with a combination of the memory-wipe serum most have remembered who they are due to the antidote,” Leia trailed off, the frustration clear in her face, “their bodies, however…”

“At least they remember!” Han cut in as he steered the cargo ship into the vast depths of space. “Look, we can worry about their puny sizes later. It’s not the end of the world!”

“But what about the rebels who have been blinded by the serum? Or those who are unable to even walk?” Leia barked at Han, crossing her hands stubbornly, “and what about the perfected juvenile-experiment!”

“What about the perfected juvenile-experiment?” Luke asked suddenly, confused by the expression that was on her face. It was that compassionate expression she gave her comrades before they heroically perished in space, and it certainly did not add to his comfort.  
  
“Do you remember Eden Tran?” Leia asked, removing his hand from her shoulder and leaving him distraught, “he was infected with a perfected serum.”

“Y-yeah, did something happen to him?” Luke asked carefully.

Leia leaned back in her co-pilot seat, “He had a breakdown all of a sudden while you were asleep. We tried to comfort him, but he kept on screaming his lungs out and it only worsened when his body turned younger as well.”  
  
Han gave him a playful nudge and he did not seem to notice the color drain out of Luke’s face, “If it weren’t for Chewie taking over the pilot seat so I could see it with my own eyes I would have never believed it.”

“Well, I am glad you did because your attitude about this whole ordeal would have been even worse!”

“Excuse you?”  
  
“Wait, wait–” Luke interjected, feeling his blood turn cold. “How is Eden now? …What age is his body? And his memories… does he still remember, or did he forget everything?”  
  
He did not like the difficult expression showing on both Han and Leia’s face.

“Eden became a teenager, about sixteen. He still remembers who he is, and he has some fragments and pieces of his time with the rebellion, but it seems he’s losing them all with time,” Leia stated, turning to face Luke again, “we can only hope for the best. But what worries me is his headache that doesn’t seem to stop.”  
  
“And the… And the antidote didn’t work?” Luke tried to collect himself, but he felt himself failing terribly.  
  
Leia sighed and shook her head, “No, it’s like an entirely different serum.”  
  
Han rolled his eyes, “Come on, perhaps we’ll be able to find someone who can make the antidote themselves.”

“Oh, who is going to? _You_?” Leia placed her hands on her waist and huffed, “You do realize we would need the specific data only the facility can offer us?”  
  
“Yeah but that place should be blown up by now!”  
  
Luke slumped his shoulders and sat back leaning against the backside of pilot’s seat, startling both Han and Leia out of their stubborn streak. Leia turned her seat around and knelt at his side, comforting him with a gentle pat on the back.

“Luke, what’s wrong?”

Looking at Leia, he noticed the tenderness resonate in her chocolate brown eyes. At this display of affection, he couldn’t help gritting his teeth and lower his bright blue eyes, “The perfected serum does not only cause the body to shrink Leia but it also slowly destroys the victim's brain cells until their newly assigned age. I’m fairly sure that’s why the antidote doesn’t work on Eden, it’s related to the brain instead of the memories.”

He could feel her immense shock through the Force. Han as well.

“Luke, how do you know so much about the perfected juvenile-experiment?” Leia asked.  
  
Scrunching his eyes, Luke rolled out another sigh, “There’s something I haven’t told you guys yet…”

Frustrated, he told them of what happened back on Montross. About how splitting from the group and trying to apprehend whoever owned the facility resulted in him getting caught and injected with the perfected serum.  
  
“What?!” Leia exclaimed, not knowing what to be more shocked at; Han letting go of the steering wheel and risking a collision with a nearby asteroid or Luke having the same serum course through his bloodstream as rebels Eden and Charlotte.    
  
“Is there something else we should know?” Han asked almost annoyed.  
  
Luke scratched the back of his neck, attempting a half-smile, “Uh, well yes. They doubled the dosage - but I’m not sure what the effect of that will be.”

“You cannot be kidding me! And who knows of your problem?”  
  
“You guys are the only ones that know,” Luke admitted. “Look, the scientist told me there was this chance it wouldn’t even work so I never let it get to my head that much, but now…”

“Oh, Luke…” Was all Leia could say as she stroked his back in a silent gesture to not lose hope and be strong.

 “I’m going back to Montross, I need to find an antidote.”  
  
“I will come with you. There’s no telling what might happen.” 

“Thanks, Leia.”

Rising from his place on the cold floor, Luke looked down at his friend and reached out a hand, helping her get back on her feet.

“Han, what are you doing?” Leia asked suddenly, seeing Han deactivate the energy field and press several buttons.

Han turned in his chair, his face serious, “I send over some help. They should be here any second now,” the corners of his mouth quirked up when the Headquarters Frigate came out of hyper speed.

“Home One–!” Luke couldn’t believe his eyes as he watched Han steer the cargo ship onboard one of the most advanced ships in the Alliance Fleet.

The lopsided grin never left his face, “Once we parked this ship, we’ll take the Millennium Falcon and fly back down to find the antidote.”

* * *

_A day later…_

“Artoo, don’t worry we know what we’re doing.” At least Luke hoped he did for if they could not find any information on his condition he would not have any hope of saving himself from the curse that already took Eden -- and from what he heard from Leia took Commander Charlotte Wishwinter about an hour ago as well. He could practically feel the serum touch his organs and modify them slightly, preparing his body for a quick and extremely painful de-aging process. But he could not let those uncomfortable thoughts cloud his judgment.

As he ran through the rubbles of what used the be the science facility, he felt his hope slowly wither away. There was almost nothing left of the facility leaving all but rubbles and the dead bodies of Imperial scientists. When they went further in he felt slight relief that there were parts still standing, though pretty much everything seemed shattered and broken. It was clear to him the Empire had already started their investigation on what happened, but they all seemingly left the place for now.

“Kid, did you find anything?” Han asked, opening some damaged sideboards but only finding shattered vials. “Cause I’m having some trouble over here–” he bitterly added closing the door and moving towards another.

“Not yet,” said Luke as he turned to his astromech droid, “Artoo see if you can download the map. We should be heading for the juvenile-experiment department.”

Artoo moved over to whatever was left of the wall and jacked into the complex system undetected. Beeping loudly, he showed them a visualized map of the place.  

“That’s great Artoo!” Luke exclaimed happily; his bright blue eyes fixed on the upper-right room.

“What did you find?” Han asked.

Luke quickly turned around and headed for the door, “I know where the Juvenile-experiment department is,” said Luke as he motioned for Han to follow him.

As they ran into the hallway, they heard a loud bark filled with alarm from Chewbacca followed by Leia who called out their names in a rush. Halting, Han and Luke turned towards the voices, a door slid open and Leia almost flung herself at them.  
  
“Leia, what’s wrong?” Luke asked, holding her tight.

Her chocolate eyes turned serious, “We have a problem.”  
  
“Oh, I don’t like problems. What is it now?” Han cut in.

“Admiral Ackbar just informed me there is an imperial invasion in space. They’re attacking our ships as we speak,” Leia told them, “Darth Vader is with them, so we have to watch out.”

“Vader is up there?” Luke blanched at the thought of his father being so close. The last time he had seen him was on Cloud City and that had not been a pleasant experience. Shaking his head, Luke pushed those thoughts aside and motivated the others to get to the Juvenile-department.

He could feel Leia’s worried stare, “You still weren’t able to find anything?” she asked him.  
  
Luke shook his head as they ran towards their destination, “Not yet, how about you?”  
  
“I found three bottles of antidotes, but they’re meant for the blinded and disabled rebels.”  
  
“That’s good, now we only need to find the juvenile antidote and we’re fine.”

Han groaned, “I’m sorry to burst your bubble but what if we get imperial company?”  
  
“I won’t let anything happen to you guys. If worse comes you take the Millennium Falcon and leave as fast as possible.” Luke responded resolutely.

Leia gave him a profound look, “Don’t be selfless, Luke. I am not going to leave you behind. Especially not without an antidote,” she shot back annoyed.  

Luke said nothing, and once the group entered the juvenile apartment his eyes went quickly over the many sideboards in the main hall, as did Han and Chewbacca while Leia tried to get access to a datapad she had found lying on the floor.

After wasting half an hour on searching for something that seemed impossible to find Luke started losing whatever hope he had to save himself.

“Perhaps there’s no antidote yet–”

“Don’t say that Luke, the others had antidotes.”  
  
“But those experiments are more advanced and have been produced for years,” Luke told her as a matter of fact, “they started the Juvenile-experiment only recently. Especially the perfected serum.”

Han shook his head in dejection, “I hate saying this, but I think Luke’s right. There’s not a single antidote around here, did you find anything Chewie?”

There was a negative growl.  
  
Leia tapped her fingers on the datapad in her right hand, narrowing her eyes in deep thought, “If there’s no antidote we should find as much information we can about the serum. Artoo, hack into the system and see what you can find.”

Making his way over towards the destroyed holotank, Luke tensed, his mental shields raised, warding off the dark presence lurking in the back of his mind, trying to enter his mind. He briefly felt Vader’s presence trying to pinpoint his location and it was then he realized his father was much closer than he would have let on. In fact, Vader had entered Montross’ orbit and was heading straight towards him.  
  
“You guys need to leave,” Luke said suddenly, his eyes widening.  
  
“What is it?”  
  
“I can sense him, Leia.”  
  
Han tilted his head in confusion. “Sense who?”  
  
Luke bit his lips, “Darth Vader is here.”

Han regarded him for a moment before the shock set in, “Oh no, no, you cannot be serious! We have no time for that jerk right now.”  
  
Leia’s eyes narrowed stubbornly, “I’m not leaving until we have found specific information on the antidote.”  
  
Shaking his head, Luke hurried over to Leia and Han as the two-stood staring at the datapad in undeniable shock. He did not want to put his friends in any more danger with Vader nearby, though Luke assumed they still had some time before he would arrive. Looking over Leia’s shoulder he saw that they were reading through some ingredients list. But when Leia’s fingers scrolled back up again, he felt his own eyes widen in shock too, even if somewhere in the back of his mind he had always known. 

“No cure?” Han repeated the words in awe, his head turned to Luke with unease.  
  
“You were right, Luke. The experiment hasn’t been developed enough yet,” Leia lowered her furrowed head, drawing her lower lip between her teeth. “There is nothing we can do.”

Luke pressed his lips together and fakes a smile, “It’s okay, Leia. Let’s just get back to the ship before Vader or anyone else finds us here.”  
  
Watching Leia tuck the datapad with all the info in her bag he had not anticipated the tall man with foxlike eyes and an icy greyish green hue like the first sprouts of plants in the snow on Hoth. His long raven-black hair against the white of his lab coat seemed to trigger something akin to distress in not only him, but Han, Leia, and Chewbacca too. 

Standing at the doorway, the middle-aged scientist hunched over grabbing onto the frame with a smirk on his face.  
  
“So, it was you that destroyed my magnificent piece-of-art!” He jabbed a trembling finger at them, moving over the group before he snarled at Leia. “Give me back my datapad, dear.”

“Never.” Leia scowled, grabbing tightly onto her bag and stepping behind Han and Luke.  
  
“Who are you? Are you behind all of the experiments?” Luke asked suspiciously, his hand slowly moving towards his lightsaber. 

“You may call me Grand General Augustine founder of well… whatever is left of this facility before you and your petty alliance blew it up,” The scientist looked around the place with a disappointed look on his face, “and why yes, I took the main initiative to research and create the serums.”

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Han raise his gun at Augustine, “Guess we’ll just have to take you as a hostage then.”  
  
“Ah, no that would not work. After all, I am here to collect the datapad in that young ladies’ bag, I don’t want anyone else snooping through my reports.” As the grin on the grand general’s face grew wider the color from Luke and his friends’ face grew paler, “But more importantly, I am here to show our Lord Darth Vader the way around the rubbles of the facility.”

It couldn’t be. He had only felt him enter orbit just now so how come he was here already? Could it be that the Force actually withheld these details from him? Luke’s mind raced but he could not seem to find the answer before Vader startled him out of his thoughts.

“We meet again at last,” Vader said as he moved in from behind the grand general.

“Darth Vader–” Luke firmly grasped his lightsaber, unhooked it, and activated the shimmering green weapon. Holding onto the hilt so tightly that he heard the leather of his glove creak.

He had no time to consider how he had felt neither Grand General Augustine nor Darth Vader until it was too late. Gritting his teeth, Luke turned to his stupefied friends, “Run! I’ll hold them off.”  
  
“But Luke–!” Leia protested fiercely, but the grave look in his bright blue eyes made her pause.  
  
“Go now!” Luke pointed his green lightsaber at Vader. They had to leave now before he would capture his friends or worse; have the scientist inject his friends with another set of foreign serums.  
  
Han seems to have understood Luke’s plea and grabbed onto Leia’s arm, “Come on, let’s go!” she could only look on helplessly. Turning around they left through another door with Chewbacca and Artoo on their heels.

“Lord Vader, she has my datapad!”  
  
Vader’s eyes never left Luke, “I am not interested in your datapad, grand general,” he said stepping closer to Luke whereas he would take a step back, hoping he would be able to hold off Vader until he was sure Han and Leia were safely onboard the Millennium Falcon.

“Grand General Augustine, I want you to get back to my ship and stay there,” Vader ordered.  
  
“Y-yes my Lord.”

Luke watched on as the scientist and his last hope of getting an antidote followed the orders given and left for Vader’s ship, moving away and leaving him alone with his long-lost yet slightly evil father amongst the half-rubbles of what used to be the juvenile-department.


	3. A father who wants his son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While searching for an antidote, Luke, Leia, and Han find themselves in trouble with a Dark Lord of the Sith lurking in the shadows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if this chapter feels a bit rushed. I guess it's not one of the best chapters I have ever written but I picked up a writer-block halfway through this chapter and it lasted for about a year (I had chapter 2 written a long time ago but only waited until last week to post it since I simply forgot). I also deleted up to 1000 words from this chapters' earlier draft so I wouldn't get annoyed by certain parts I had initially written.

“Father…” Luke trailed off.  
  
“Son,” Vader’s soothing voice startled him. “so, you have accepted the truth.”

Luke flinched at the statement, and he couldn’t help the strange pull at his heartstring when he heard Vader, the man that once used to be Anakin Skywalker call out to him in such a way.

Shaking his head, Luke reminded himself his father was evil, manipulative and worst of all he was a mass murderer. But his father was someone he could perhaps save as well.

Vader flourished his weapon one-handed in a circle, almost inviting the challenge while Luke held his lightsaber with both hands, pointing upward and ready to defend should Vader choose to attack him.

“I know Anakin Skywalker is still in there somewhere–” Luke paused, feeling Vader’s anger increase. He felt his own face constrict with a deep, pained look. “He is the man that is my father.”

“That name no longer has any meaning to me,” Vader grumbled before straightening and reaching out his left hand, “Luke, come with me. Obi-Wan is no more. He lied to you about your father, about me, so why do you still resist?”  
  
_No_ , Luke thought immediately. He shook his head and called out, “Father, come with  _me_. It doesn’t have to be this way. I know there’s good in you,” but it seems to have no effect on the Sith Lord and Luke watched in growing despair as his father brought up his hand and Force pushed him against the wall.

“It is too late for me, son. The Light side died along with the man that was once Anakin Skywalker.”

“I don’t believe that,” Luke exclaimed, getting back on his feet but feeling his lightsaber ripped from his hand and fly through the air, landing in the hand of his father. Luke shared him a look of astonishment before he extended his hand and reached out through the Force trying to retain his belonging.

However, Vader held Luke’s lightsaber tightly in his hand, and Luke could only watch on helplessly as his father approached him with slow steps.

With a pounding heart, Luke reached deeper through the Force and tried mimicking his father into Force pushing him away. However, the attempt hurt and sickened him, and he closed his eyes tight shut realizing these were the effects of the serum he felt washing over him, seeping deeper into his internal organs and tainting them. It left him shuddering from where he stood, and he felt his body temperature go down ten degrees. Biting his lips, he could only hope the unpleasant feeling was momentarily and would not start de-aging him in the presence of his father. Because of all the people he could be with when the painful de-aging procedure would start, Darth Vader was among the names lowest on the list. One name above the Emperor perhaps.

He never heard the heavy footsteps of his father over the loud drumming in his head, “Luke, I felt a disturbance. What happened?”

Utterly confounded with the way his body was reacting to the serum, Luke shook his head furiously and took a step back, “Get away from me–”

“No, I will not make the same mistake this time,” Vader replied full of determination. “You will come with me, my son. Even if I have to force you.”

As soon as the episode stopped the loud drumming in his head ran-down as well leaving him exhausted, confused, and tightly pressed against the wall from where he could only glare at his father. Whatever the serum had done to his body prompted his Force senses to spin out of control and when he tried to control it, he felt he was too weak to touch upon it, leaving him blocked and unable to reach out through the Force.

“You are in no position to fight me, son. Let me help you.” His heart wrenched painfully in response. But Luke knew he could not go with his father.

“I can’t, you don’t understand–” Luke trailed off, shaking his head dismissively.

“Make me understand.” Vader’s voice dropped to a near-whisper. “There is undeniably something wrong with you. Your Force-signature has gone haywire.”

“I… I don’t feel the Force,” Luke replied bitterly.

This seemed to have stirred something within the Sith Lord, “How is that possible?”

Luke wasn’t sure what, or how it happened. He wasn’t even sure when it happened or whether it was Vader or the serum that had done it. But before his eyes flickered dancing black spots while he fought to quickly squash a burgeoning headache but failed terribly. He felt wrung out as if he was being squeezed of every drop of life until he felt himself fall to the ground.

* * *

Vader’s heart jackhammered in his chest as he watches Luke collapse to the floor, his head missing the pointy remains of shattered vials by a hair. His son looked terribly pale and Vader reaches out through the Force in hopes to calm the boy, but what he found was a jumbled mess of Force turbulence, raging in confusion and messing with Luke’s Force-signature. With displeasure, he retreated hesitantly. There was little time to think about the conditioning of his son with rebels near to take him away, yet again. The thought only further fueled his anger.

As his ragged breathing calmed, he silently noticed how vulnerable his son seemed in his unconscious state and Vader began to feel his protective instincts flare up. He finally had Luke with him now, his son was  _his_  now. He wouldn’t let anyone else take him.

Without further ado, he stepped towards Luke, bent down and picked his son from the floor before stalking through the rubbles of the facility until he reaches his personal shuttle and dragged Luke into the co-pilot seat. Watching his son stir silently Vader caressed his cheek by means to comfort him before taking his own seat and start the engines. He lifted the shuttle and moved away from the planet.

The last thing he desired were X-wings, although he was confident enough to blast those useless fighters out of the sky if needed.

Moving at light speed, Vader steered his shuttle towards the white spearhead of the Super Star Destroyer, the Executor. Moving stately through the vast emptiness of space. When the shuttle touched down, he dismissed Grand General Augustine.  
  
The scientist had frowned and given Vader quite the analytical stare before the Sith Lord wrapped his gloved hands around his son. Carefully taking him to his quarters whilst ignoring the dumbfounded stares from the personnel onboard as he strode through the hallways. His cape billowing out behind him.

* * *

Luke stirred, groaning from the aftermath of the episode that had yet to calm down and left him exhausted, ice-cold and on the verge of throwing up, somewhere… though he wasn’t sure where. His eyes were closed but he could feel the silk sheets around his cold body.

Wasn’t he supposed to be back on Montross with Leia, Han, and Chewbacca searching for the antidote? Or had they already managed to find them–? He couldn’t remember. Frowning, Luke opened his bright blue eyes and moved into a sitting position, looking around with a gradually more pale-looking expression.

For one, this wasn’t the Millennium Falcon since he was pretty sure it didn’t contain such a luxurious bedroom. Nor was this the Headquarters Frigate since he could easily distinguish the Galactic Empire emblem from the Rebel Alliance emblem that was glued to the curtains. No, he was definitely on an imperial ship, and by the looks of it a very large ship.

A sense of dread filled Luke once he remembered his meeting with Vader before the effects of the serum momentarily disabled him.  _Force, of course!_ His father had taken this perfect opportunity to capture him and lock him up in here.

Luke bit his lip; hopefully, Leia, Han, and Chewbacca had successfully managed to steal the datapad and safely returned back to one of the Rebel bases by now. No matter what would happen to him, hopefully, they could find the antidote to not only help Luke but the other Rebels too.

A shiver ran through Luke’s spine and he felt the dizziness increase and creep over his senses. Regrettably, he realized he wasn’t sure whether he felt that way because of the serum or because a certain Dark Lord of the Sith strode inside the room.

“You are awake.”

Luke winced once the doors slid open, revealing the Sith Lord, “You need to explain some things to me, son.”

“Where… where am I?” Luke mumbled with furrowed brows. “Where are my friends?”

He watches his father come to a halt, crossing his arms whilst Luke was sure Vader's piercing gaze behind the mask took in his features. Without a doubt sensing that something was amiss. Luke soon realized keeping his conditioning a secret from his father would prove more difficult than Leia or Han.

“You are on board the Executor,” Vader pointed out, “as for your friends… I have done nothing to them. My focus was solely on you.”  
  
“I see.” Luke let out a sigh of relief unaware of the frustration flaring up in his father.

“Now you will explain what is happening. I have felt the disturbance numerous times even when you were unconscious. Something seems very off about you, my son.” Vader demanded.

“I don’t know–“ Luke's mouth twitched as he felt Vader press him. He already felt terribly exhausted, could he not wait a day?  
  
“I am fairly sure you know.” 

“You can’t help me,” Luke replied stubbornly.  
  
“What do you see me for? A father that would abandon a son he never knew existed?”

Luke bristled; he had not ever considered that. Would Vader truly be able to help him? Even for the Sith Lord that his father was, there had to be some ounce in him that cared for his wellbeing, right?  
  
Luke bit his lip, “I…I don’t know if I should tell you.”  
  
“Tell me,” Vader’s voice sounded somewhat grave, "I can help you," he added with finality.

Realizing his father wasn’t leaving until he spits out the truth, Luke took in a deep breath and looked away, “W-while saving the rebels on Montross I got captured and injected with a perfected Juvenile serum… I went back to look for an antidote with my friends but…” His eyes slowly locked with his father, and at that moment, Luke realized he did not need to finish the sentence.

“That means your body will shrink.” He could hear the disbelief in Vader’s voice even through his respirator.  
  
Luke nodded but grimaced, “Yes, but the perfected version is supposedly more advanced. That it would actually reverse my brain cells up until a certain age, which I must admit sounds like a painful experience,” he added dryly.

Vader did not respond.

Luke clenched his hands tightly into the silk sheets and pleaded with him, “Please  _father_ , I need the antidote before it’s too late! Talk to that scientist Augustine. If anyone can create one, I’m sure it's him.”

When Vader still did not respond, Luke felt something twist inside his stomach; was Vader actually having second thoughts? He would not condemn him to this fate, right?  
  
Luke blinked out of his stupor when Vader replied calmly, “When you were unconsciousness I spoke to Grand General Augustine about the experimental project. He did mention the perfected serum but never elaborated on it.” He started slowly. “So… it will not only turn you into a juvenile physically but also mentally?”  
  
“Supposedly,” Luke replied somberly.  
  
Vader nodded prudently, “When did they inject you with this serum?”  
  
“I…” Luke took a deep breath. He drew his lower lip between his teeth due to an increasing pain settling in his stomach and he could feel it grow and spread throughout his body like a curse. Scrunching his eyes Luke shook his head and let out a soft huff. “I… don’t know. I think it was my second day back on Montross,” he managed to croak out.  

Luke faintly heard his Vader ask whether he was okay, and he had to admit he felt anything but. Luke didn’t know how much time had passed since a dead-silence stretched between them but he felt the tingling sensation of the serum forcefully overtake his body, digging deep into his organs and now spreading like wildfire.

It was starting again - but this time he knew it was different. This was not the same episode like last time. A surge of pain shot through his body again, and Luke stifled a scream of agony.

It was already happening; the serum had already been in an advanced stage and was near completion! Why so soon? Now the only thing left was… No, he didn’t want Vader to see him like this! But when the source of the pain was intensifying, even Luke couldn’t help the loud cry for support.

Sweat started breaking on his forehead and he could feel his panic rise by the second. This was definitely the serum, no doubt about it!

He had to remember! No matter what, he  _had_  to remember!

Was there still a way he could save himself? Could it be that the serum would turn in his favor? Maybe the Force would show pity and reduce the effects… or was he fated to become a brainwashed minion of the Empire? No, he had to remember! He could not let that happen to himself. 

“Argh!” Luke yelled, barely conscious of what was happening around him. Had his father noticed? Was he already at Luke’s side or did he not know? Luke grabbed his arms forcefully, hugging himself, but when the searing pain followed its way up Luke tightly grabbed onto his head and focused all his energy on blocking the serum from touching his brain.

Luke wanted to cry.

The pain was unbearable.

Then suddenly the sensation became numb. As if his whole body had fallen asleep. It then registered that Luke couldn’t feel his legs anymore. He couldn’t feel his arms, and he couldn’t even see anymore – and his thoughts too started to freeze until he felt himself falling into unconsciousness.

* * *

Leia stood on the high stairs overlooking the scientific facility of the Rebel Alliance. Her expression hardened while the scientists discussed how to decipher the codes and extract valuable information from the datapad.  
  
Her hands tightened into fists and Leia felt greatly uncomfortable as she thought about her friend. Luke had not come back after warning them and she had feared for his life.

“Do you think he’s still alive?” Han had asked her gently, not having left her side ever since their trip to Montross. 

Leia closed her eyes, shaking her head in dismay, “I’m not sure Han, but… but I think he is.”

Han scratched the back of his head and nodded absently, “I hope you’re right on this one Princess. The kid doesn’t deserve this.”

Leia nodded, a glint of absolute shimmered in her eyes, “If Luke is alive and captured by the Empire, we must make sure to create an anti-serum and find his current location. We have no idea what they might do to him Han– It scares me. Luke is not only our friend, but he’s also our strongest asset.”

Han sighed and placed a careful hand on her shoulder.


End file.
